Rural mail-box.



No. 731,061. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1903. G. F. MACKENZIE & R. J. PENSE.

RURAL MAIL BOX.

APPLIOATIQN FILED JAN. 10, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

WIN/E8858 5' J Arm/r E s' ms Nqmus Ptrzns co. PNGTD-LITHCL, wummrrugi, n. c.

lPatented Juii 16, 1903.

'FFICE.

PATENT COLIN F. MACKENZIE AND ROBERT J. PENSE, OF SHELL, WV YOMING.

RURAL MAIL-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 731,061, dated June 16, 1903.

Annlicationfiled January 16, 1903- Serial No. 139,268. (No model).

To all whom it may 00721007 12 Be it known that we, COLIN F. MACKENZIE and ROBERT J. 'PENSE, citizens of the United States, residing at Shell, in the county of Bighorn and State of Wyoming, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rural Mail-Boxes, of which. the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to rural-delivery mailboxes, and has for its object the provision of a counterbalanced box pivoted to the side of a fence-post or other convenient place in position, so that the carrier may pull the box out near his wagon-seat and deposit or extract mail without getting out of his wagon.

A further object is the provision of a self closing and opening lid for said box.

\Ve attain these objects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a rear elevation showing the box in normal position pivoted upon the side of a post. A portion of the box is shown cut away to illustrate the manner of fastening the box to the pivotal bracket-casting and counterbalancing-arm. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, showing in dotted lines the position of the box when pulled down or turned on its pivot to permit the extraction or deposit of the mail and also showing the Weighted counterbalaucing-arm for opening and closing the lid.

The mail-box 1 is preferably rectangular in cross-section and made of sheet metal. It is provided with a slanting lid or cover 2, which is hinged at 3 to the rear top edge of the box. A rod 4, which serves as the pin of the hinge 3, is bent at one end (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) and soldered or otherwise fixed to the under side of the lid. At its other end it is bent to hang down along the side of the boxjust a little forward of the hinge and is provided with a counterbalancing weight 18. This weighted counterbalancing-arm 4 tends to keep the lid closed when the box is standing in its normal position, and when the box swings outward and down, as will be presontly explained, the weight 18 will turn the arm 4 and lift or open the lid. The box is fastened at its lower end upon a bracketcasting 5, having a flat vertical bracket-arm 6 and the horizontal bracket-arm 7 fixed, re-

spectively, to one side and the bottom of the and in line with the vertical bracket-arm 6 thereof is a long counterbalancing-arm 11, provided at its end with a weight 12. The box is pivotally fastened to the side of a post 13 by means of a headed pivot-bolt 14, which passes through the central bearing 10 of the hub 9 and through a hole in the post. This pivot-bolt is shoulderedor enlarged for a distance from its headed end where it passes through the hub, and between this shoulder and the post we place a washer 15, so that when the pivot-bolt is tightened up in the post the binding will come on the washer and not on the hub, and hence the bracket-hub will be 'free'to turn or swing on the enlarged shoulder-bearing end of the pivot-bolt. A hand cord or chain 16, which is fastenedin the eye 17 near the top of the front of the box, hangs out in reach of the carrier. The post on which the box is pivoted is preferably planted at the side of the road out ofthe way of passing vehicles, and by having the box pivoted thereon so that it can be pulled down and out to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 enables the carrier to deposit or extract the mail without leaving his wagon and without driving very close to the post. The advantage of having the box pivoted to swing down and out away from the post is also seen in case, as is usual, that there is a ditch at the side of the road. In such case the post may be planted on the far edge of said ditch, and the carrier need not drive down into the ditch,

but can reach out and catch the hand-cords and pull the box down and out near his seat.

' The rural carrier, who usually travels in a wagon or on horseback, drives up in front'of the box and reaches out and grasps the handcord 16 and pulls the box down and out near his seat, where itis convenient for him to extract or deposit the mail and hold it in this position. If desired, the carrier may pull the box down lower than as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and dump its contentsinto his wagon. When the box is pulled down, the weight 18 on the end of the counterbalancing-arm 4 on the lid will cause said arm to turn on its hinge 3, and as the arm is rigidly fixed to the lid it will also cause the lid to turn on the hinge, and thereby open the box. As soon as the carrier has extracted or deposited the mail he releases his hold on the hand-cord, and the box will turn up and back to its normal position ,by the force of the weight 12 on the counterbalancing-arm 11. At the same timethebox isturningback the weightedcounterbalancing-arm 4 will turn back on its hinge and close the lid of the box againstthe rain,&c.

While we have described our invention as constructed for use as a rural mail-box, it may be used for any purpose for which it is adapted and may be modified in details of structure and arrangement to adapt it. for its various purposes without departing from the spirit and scope ot'the concluding claims.

We claim- 1. A rural mail-box comprising a swinging box pivoted at its lower end to a side support and having a weighted counterbalancing-arm depending diametrically from its bottom substantially in line with the length of the box, substantially as described.

2. In a rural mail-box, the combination with a supporting-post, of a swinging box pivoted at its lower end to the side of the post. a weighted counterbalancing-armdiametrically depending from its bottom substantially in line with the length of the box, a lid on its top hingedaxially parallel with the box -pivot-, and a weighted counterbalancing-arrn rigidly securedto the lid at its hinged edge and swinging and depending therefrom alongside of the box, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a bottomly-pivoted swinging box, of a counterbalancing-arm depending therefrom substantially in line with the length of said box, a lid hinged thereto at its rear top edge axially parallel with its pivot and a weighted counterbalancing-arm rigidly secured to and depending from the hinge edge of said lid and swinging axially parallel with the box-pivot along the side of the box, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses: I r

A. O. MGKELLAR, W. MCKELLAR. 

